Hi all, hope this post finds you well and happy. I had great plans to join in the Quilting Gallery Blog Hop, but life got in the way. Sad face all around.
The good news is that over 200 bloggers DID join in! That's a lot of hopping, but it's also a lot of fun. So I thought I'd tell you about and give you the link. All you have to do is click on the button to the right. Have a great time hopping! Happy Quilting, Mary
During our last Blog Hop with Quilters Gallery, I won a packet of Cherrywood Studio fabrics from Marija at http://marijasfabricreations.blogspot.com/. The package arrived earlier this week, but I've been a bit busy.....at Beta Convention since Wednesday.
I was very happy to see this package on Tuesday. I'd gotten an email from Marija last week, so I knew that it was on the way. As soon as I opened the package, I wanted to call in sick and let someone else go to convention! Well, almost.
What I did instead was to play and fondle and pet the pretties for, oh, an hour at least. I fanned them out in a pretty rainbow.... but there were too many!
So, I made a second fan of different fabrics. They certainly were pretty all spread out like that, but I wasn't done. I found a really quirky way to spread them out. Isn't this funny?
The little corners poking out between the layers remind me of tongues--kittens licking up milk or maybe puppy kisses. The stripes were doing something for me, so I played with stripes a bit more. Since I'd used gray and brown for the tongue design, I used pink and purples for the simple stripes.
But there were more left, and I figured they'd be upset if they didn't get to play stripes, so they became skinny stripes.
Why not do opposing fans? I would like this design more if it didn't remind me of the pile of file folders sitting on my desk, waiting for me to grade the papers inside. No, this one is not a happy design, although it is a pretty one and I love the blue/purple color combination. I'm not sure what this "V" does for me, but it gives you a close-up of the fabric design. A special thank you to Marija for having the giveaway. These fabrics are gorgeous! I can't wait to get started with a pretty little AAQI quilt. I may even get going this weekend, especially since it just happens to be a three-day and I'm about to crawl into bed....at 8:30! I really need a few extra hours of sleep. Somehow it's difficult to sleep when 35 teenagers are your responsibility (and there are about 250 more in the building). My Betas were awesome! Not a moment's trouble with them and they did every thing I asked (we're in charge of Service Project and Games). Plus, they were on time, every time! Teens! gotta love 'em sometimes!
Thanks again Marija! I'll be posting my AAQI project as soon as I get something quilted and bound. These beautiful Cherrywood fabrics will be stunning, no matter what my brain cooks up.
We have a winner!
And because I don't remember how to download or copy the "True
Random Number Generator" box, we'll just have to deal with having the results
shown outside the box. Sorry about that all, I did my best to (almost) make it fit.
So, the winner: Deb of
Quilting and Other Crafts!
The email I sent to
her follows:
Congratulations, Deb! You are the winner of the Fleur de Lis
Quilts and Accessories giveaway. You've won a free Christmas stocking.
Because your comment noted that you like red and white stocking, I'll
need another day or two to make it. But if you send your address, I will
get it mailed by Friday, surely. Because I need to make your stocking,
I'll give you an extra day to get back to me. Please respond to my email
by Thursday afternoon at 5:00. If I've not heard from you, I'll have to
choose another winner so that I can get the stocking out in time Christmas.
Congratulations again,
Mary
I'll keep you posted
on the outcome of Deb's stocking and if (or when) I hear from her.
Thanks again to everyone who entered the giveaway and also to everyone
who is now a follower. That number has increased to 195 and for the first
time since I started the blog in November of 2010, there were over 60 comments on one post. You guys ROCK! Thank you again for participating and for visiting.
Finally, a huge thank you to Michele at the Quilting Gallery for putting together the giveaway and doing all the work required to host such a huge endeavor.
True Random Number Generator24Powered by RANDOM.ORG
Edited to add Deb's response to my email:
Wow! Thank you so much Mary! I'm excited to see what you put together...
We're having a bloggy party, giveaways included, to celebrate Quilters' Gallery's5th birthday!
I thought about this all of
two minutes, but I know that I want to make a couple of quilted Christmas stockings.
So, I'm going to promise one in a favorite color to whomever wins this
giveaway!
http://clipart.christiansunite.com
The Small Print:
you must be a follower of this blog to win
The Chances:
two great chances: 1. comment telling me what color stocking you'd choose if you were to win, and 2. like me on my Fleur de Lis Quilts Facebook page.
The Dirt:
open until Monday, December 17th, 10 p.m. (CST); winner will be picked using random.org and announced on Tuesday; giveaway open to everyone, including those outside the U. S.A.
The Promise:
http://www.123rf.com
I'll make a stocking or two this week and post it/them asap so you can see what I create, and I will have one in your color ready for shipping within a few days of contacting you. I realize that it's getting a bit late for shipping, but I'm going to be positive about the winner receiving the prize before Christmas.
Think happy, positive thoughts and enter all the giveaways you can, just click here to find the other blogs at Quilters' Gallery.
Hi all, Just a quick note to say thank you for visiting, and a special thank you to those who have chosen to follow my blog! Leave a comment on Friday's post if you'd like a chance to win the giveaway prizes: two vintage patterns, hand-sewn purse accessories, handmade flower hair accessory and a sewing kit. Photos are on Friday's post. Every comment is another chance to win! Happy Quilting, Mary
I've been thinking that it's about time for another giveaway. It's been a while since my last, and there are so many reasons to celebrate: I have lots of wonderful followers, my blog has reached over 150 votes on Picket Fence, and I have well over 250 posts.
And, on a personal note, I have been keeping up with my lenten plans....the NICU gowns are coming along beautifully and I may even exceed my own expectations! Yes, it's time for a party! That said, let's plan one.
Just as I was having these giving thoughts, I discovered that the Quilting Gallery is planning a blog hop party with giveaways! Now, you know, I had to get on that wagon and hop a ride. We will follow the rules, just cause I do that when possible. So here they are
blog hop and giveaways begin on March 17
everything ends on March 23
easy-peasy entry (just leave a comment on this page)
international entries welcome
hop back to Quilting Gallery to enter other giveaways (that's the party part)
So what shall we give? I dove into the studio and found a few goodies that I think you may like:
two vintage patterns
a hand-made satin flower (for your hair)
a trio of purse accessories (book cover, kleenex holder and card holder)
one of my sewing kits filled with all the basic sewing needs, except scissors.
If you like these items, you could win. All you have to do is leave a comment. I'll determine the winner on March 23rd and post it once I've contacted the winner. And don't forget to go to Quilting Gallery to visit other blogs who are having a party! I can barely wait till Saturday to begin!
Giveaway is closed.....and we have a winner! #23 Linda V. I've sent her an email and will let everyone know when she replies! Thanks to all who participated.....
I've been a fan of Alex Anderson's for several years. I found Simply Quilts on HGTV and began watching it so that I could learn about the industry, meet the big names in the business, and learn techniques that would help me in my own work.
It didn't take long before I was making quilts using the techniques I learned from Alex and her guests. Some techniques worked for me, others didn't, but I stayed with Alex, searching for her on other channels and discussing her show with quilting friends.
When Simply Quilts left the air, I followed Alex's career and eventually found her again on the internet via The Quilt Show.
One reason I like Alex has to do with her fun personality, which I found genuine in person, but a bigger reason is that she makes well-known quilters accessible to the rest of us. My biggest reason, however, is her talent for hand-quilting. Naturally, I was very happy to get a lesson from the master herself at the Ricky Tims' Seminar. She makes hand quilting look so easy.
I do enjoy hand quilting but find that it is a bit too relaxing for me--I dose off after about ten minutes. Of course, that's not bad, especially when I do need a nap, but I don't get much quilting done in one sitting!
Alex showed how she creates quilting designs from everyday objects, how she alters designs, and how she uses the fabrics and piecing designs in the quilt to create her quilting designs.
How might this help someone who rarely hand quilts? Many of her ideas and techniques can easily be applied to machine quilting and, if I ever find myself hand quilting again, I hope to apply some of her techniques to increase my efficiency. With just a ten minute window, I have to work fast to get anything accomplished!
What about you? Do you have some tips for hand quilting that you'd like to share?
I'm a member of Ricky Tims' Whoo Hoo Nation. Thanks to three days in New Orleans at the Ricky Tims Super Quilt Seminar with Ricky Tims, Alex Anderson and Libby Lehman! What an event. I expected to enjoy myself, I expected to learn, I even expected to see some beautiful quilts. What surprised me is the amount of laughing I did. Every word spoken on the stage is hilarious. Really! It's hard to believe that one can laugh so much while discussing quilting, but it's certainly possible to laugh till your sides hurt while these three are talking about their quilt lives.
So what did we learn in three days? Caveman quilting, convergence quilting, what judges look for, how to rip fabric, how to use your machine feet more effectively and so, so much more. Ricky discussed several of his techniques, Alex taught hand quilting and discussed her many ventures into The Quilt Show and The Quilt Life, and Libby brought us into her home and studio and convinced me that I have the best of machines with my Bernina. (I bought three more feet!)
Of course, there were many, many opportunities to meet other quilters and talk about quilting, but the seminars overloaded our brains!
Since it's impossible to show all the photos or write about the lessons in one entry without short-circuiting my brain, I'll save some for the next few posts. The photos on this post are all of Ricky Tims' quilts. The artists gave us permission to photograph all we wanted, and while I did not take photos of the artists themselves, I got plenty of the quilts.
Expect the next few posts to be about this one subject. I have almost as much to say about the experience as I have photos!
I finally entered one of my quilts in the weekly themed contests at Quilting Gallery. I've said several times that I would just for the fun, but life gets in the way of so many good intentions. Finally! I've done it. Since the theme is Log Cabin Quilts and I've made a few, I thought now would be a good time.
I entered Rory and Meggan's quilt, "Louisiana Bayou" which I gave them when they married. She chose the quilt one day while looking through the ones I'd completed and fell in love with the greens, golds and browns of the bayou quilt. Since she also loves red tulips and this quilt has small red centers in each block, it was perfect for them.
For his part, Rory was partly the inspiration for the quilt. He was working for a gentleman who makes handmade furniture, including a fabulous bed he designed and named the Louisiana Bayou Bed. Richard and I took a tour of his studio and I fell for the beauty of one of the beds on display. Rory explained the background of the bed and my mind could not stop thinking of the kind of quilt that such a beautiful bed deserves.
Unfortunately, I couldn't make a quilt big enough for that bed. At the time I was quilting everything on my Bernina since we hadn't purchased the longarm yet. It's very difficult to make a queen size quilt......a large king is impossible--at least for me! Here's a close-up of one of the blocks. All these photos are of the quilt on my bed before Meggan and Rory got it.
I'm supposed to encourage you to vote by clicking on the button on the left of this page. I'm not sure exactly what will happen but I think you'll be taken to the Quilting Gallery site where you'll get to see all the quilts and vote on your favorite.
Before you do that, though, leave a comment and let me know what you think. Have you made a quilt that someone loved so much that giving it away was a pleasure? That's how I felt about giving this quilt to Meggan and Rory. It was a pleasure to see her face when she opened the gift, and I am especially happy to know that they use it. Do you get the lasting pleasure of knowing that the quilt you gave away is used and appreciated? Isn't that the most wonderful feeling for a quilter?
Lastly, if you're reading this post on Friday, it's the final day to enter the giveaway. After midnight it will be too late to enter. I'll choose a winner on Saturday morning, email the winner then post the info for everyone to see on Saturday sometime in the afternoon. You will find everything you need to enter here!
The stripes were doing something for me, so I played with stripes a bit more. Since I'd used gray and brown for the tongue design, I used pink and purples for the simple stripes.
We have a winner!
And because I don't remember how to download or copy the "True
Random Number Generator" box, we'll just have to deal with having the results
shown outside the box. Sorry about that all, I did my best to (almost) make it fit.
I'll keep you posted
on the outcome of Deb's stocking and if (or when) I hear from her.
Thanks again to everyone who entered the giveaway and also to everyone
who is now a follower. That number has increased to 195 and for the first
time since I started the blog in November of 2010, there were over 60 comments on one post. You guys ROCK! Thank you again for participating and for visiting. 
I've been a fan of Alex Anderson's for several years. I found Simply Quilts on HGTV and began watching it so that I could learn about the industry, meet the big names in the business, and learn techniques that would help me in my own work. 
I'm a member of Ricky Tims' Whoo Hoo Nation. Thanks to three days in New Orleans at the Ricky Tims Super Quilt Seminar with Ricky Tims, Alex Anderson and Libby Lehman! What an event. I expected to enjoy myself, I expected to learn, I even expected to see some beautiful quilts. What surprised me is the amount of laughing I did. Every word spoken on the stage is hilarious. Really! It's hard to believe that one can laugh so much while discussing quilting, but it's certainly possible to laugh till your sides hurt while these three are talking about their quilt lives.
So what did we learn in three days? Caveman quilting, convergence quilting, what judges look for, how to rip fabric, how to use your machine feet more effectively and so, so much more. Ricky discussed several of his techniques, Alex taught hand quilting and discussed her many ventures into The Quilt Show and The Quilt Life, and Libby brought us into her home and studio and convinced me that I have the best of machines with my Bernina. (I bought three more feet!)
I finally entered one of my quilts in the weekly themed contests at Quilting Gallery. I've said several times that I would just for the fun, but life gets in the way of so many good intentions. Finally! I've done it. Since the theme is Log Cabin Quilts and I've made a few, I thought now would be a good time. 
Unfortunately, I couldn't make a quilt big enough for that bed. At the time I was quilting everything on my Bernina since we hadn't purchased the longarm yet. It's very difficult to make a queen size quilt......a large king is impossible--at least for me! 
Before you do that, though, leave a comment and let me know what you think. Have you made a quilt that someone loved so much that giving it away was a pleasure? That's how I felt about giving this quilt to Meggan and Rory. It was a pleasure to see her face when she opened the gift, and I am especially happy to know that they use it. Do you get the lasting pleasure of knowing that the quilt you gave away is used and appreciated? Isn't that the most wonderful feeling for a quilter?
